Turkey holds security meet; speculation on Syria action

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SENIOR MEMBER

A handout picture taken and released on June 29, 2015 by the Turkish Presidential Palace Press Office shows Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan heading the National Security Council meeting in Ankara. (AFP)

AFP, Ankara
Monday, 29 June 2015

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan chaired a top security meeting Monday as media speculated that Ankara was planning a military intervention in Syria, following gains there by Kurds against the militants.

The regular National Security Council meeting comes days after Erdogan said he would “never allow” the formation of a Kurdish state along Turkey’s southern borders.

A statement issued after the four-hour meeting said that the members had “thoroughly assessed” the events taking place in Syria as well as “possible threats” and “additional security measures” along the border.

“Concerns have been voiced over actions targeting the civilians in the region and aimed at changing the region’s demographic structure,” said the council, which brings together top military officials.

On Saturday, two days after an attack by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants that left more than 200 civilians dead, Kurdish forces drove the militants out of Kobane - a highly symbolic border town which Kurds had wrested from ISIS in January.

The ISIS attack was widely seen as vengeance for a series of defeats at the hands of Kurdish militia, particularly the militants’ loss of Tal Abyad, another border town further east, on June 16.

The Kurds’ advance has alarmed Turkish officials, who accuse the YPG of seeking to unite Kurdish-majority areas of Syria and fear the growing power of Kurdish forces there will embolden Turkey’s 15-million strong Kurdish minority.

Kurdish forces now control around 400 kilometres (250 miles) of contiguous border territory from Kobane in Aleppo province to northeastern Syria.

“I say to the international community that whatever price must be paid, we will never allow the establishment of a new state on our southern frontier in the north of Syria,” Erdogan said Friday.

Turkish media subsequently speculated that Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had earlier in the week asked the military to send soldiers into Syria.

The press claimed that the military high command demanded a written order from the new government, which is yet to be formed after recent elections.

The pro-government Yeni Safak newspaper said the operation would involve around 18,000 ground forces, artillery and air support on a stretch of land spanning from Kobane in the east to an area further west held by the anti-Assad Free Syrian Army.

Davutoglu warned Sunday that Ankara would take “necessary measures” against security threats on its borders, saying “our country is prepared for any eventuality”.

Citing anonymous sources, the pro-government Star newspaper also said on Monday that a possible cross-border operation would include the creation of a 110 km (68 mile) long “secure zone” within Syria.

Turkey has fought a 31-year insurgency in its southeast by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which Ankara claims is closely linked to the YPG militia, and peace talks are ongoing.

SENIOR MEMBER

So should Turkey decide to prevent the "setting up of a new state" on it's southern border, they'll fight the YPG militia? And give ISIS an edge since they've been on more than once occasion made to surrender territory to Kurds?

So Turkey isn't really interested in helping Syria. All they want is no Kurd state which would split Turkey up. Once the YPG is neutralized they go right back to watching the action from the sidelines.

MEMBER

So should Turkey decide to prevent the "setting up of a new state" on it's southern border, they'll fight the YPG militia? And give ISIS an edge since they've been on more than once occasion made to surrender territory to Kurds?

So Turkey isn't really interested in helping Syria. All they want is no Kurd state which would split Turkey up. Once the YPG is neutralized they go right back to watching the action from the sidelines.

With 2 million Syrian refugees on our soil,you still think we dont want to help Syrians?
Do you even know the plans of the YPG?
Kick out all the Arabs and Turkmens out of ''their'' territory and create another Kurdish state.
Think about it,why doesnt the YPG help liberate the rest of Syria together with the FSA but only sticks to liberating the ''Kurdish'' areas?
When and if we go in,we will fight ISIS and the YPG if they make a stupid move(i doubt it).
A safe haven will help the Syrians get on with their lives without having to fear any attacks from ISIS or the YPG terrorists.
It is in our interest that Syria stays Syria,not to be devided in smaller countries.
You should do some reading about the ''Great Kurdistan'' project,maybe then you will understand the objectives of some countries(our so called allies).
If and when we go in,no one can or will stop us,the Turkish Red Lines(Obama had 3/4 red lines) are crossed.
Btw,if Obama had acted when the first red line was crossed,there would never have been an ISIS,so blame Obama for ISIS.

MEMBER

Turkish military sends more weapons to tense Syrian border amid heated political debate

Turkish soldiers walk to their position on the Turkish side of the border in Suruc, Turkey, Friday, June 26, 2015, near the Syrian town of Ayn al-Arab or Kobani. AP Photo

As Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants plant mines on the Syrian border facing Turkey, the Turkish military has reinforced its presence on the other side of the barbed wire border amid a fresh political debate between the government and the opposition on taking military action in its neighbor.

Heavy weaponry and armored vehicles from the 5th Armored Brigade and personnel were sent to the southeastern province of Kilis on June 30, agencies reported.

Rocket batteries were placed in the hills of Karkamış in the southeastern province of Gaziantep, clearly overlooking the Syrian side and intensifying the military’s gaze across the border.

The alarm came after ISIL militants were observed planting mines between Karkamış and Carablus on the Syrian side. The militants used caterpillars to dig ditches, apparently to prevent armored vehicles crossing the border.

Turkish soldiers have also dug ditches on the Turkish side of the border in the Nusaybin town of Mardin, right across from Qamishli in Syria.

The posturing comes at a time when Turkey’s political parties are locked in talks to form a coalition government, after the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost its parliamentary majority in the June 7 general election.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said the necessity of forming a new government does not constrain the incumbent AKP government from “protecting the country’s interests,” reiterating that Turkey is “prepared to take all necessary measures to tackle security threats on its borders.”

In a speech delivered to his party’s newly elected deputies at a parliamentary group meeting on June 30, Davutoğlu underlined that the party had managed to overcome various crises while always ensuring stability in the country since it first came to power in 2002.

“I am saying this because some [people] are suggesting that some decisions cannot be made until the new government is formed. No, we will take and implement whatever is the most correct decision,” he said.

His remarks were apparently a response to Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who strongly warned the government against any military intervention in Syria, urging the AKP government not to forget that they are “an outgoing government.”

“We cannot remain indifferent in the face of developments beyond our borders. We would make the required decisions even if there was just one second to accomplish it, not a year, a day, or a single moment,” Davutoğlu said.

“When we look at Syria, we do not see Kurds, Arabs, Alawites, or Sunnis. We only see the neighboring Syrian people. That being the case, if some people attempt to redraw the map, we will display an open stance,” he said. “We won’t let Turkey be exposed to a fait accompli or be dragged into adventures.”

The prime minister’s remarks came after the National Security Council (MGK), chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on June 29, expressed concern about the threat of “terrorism” from the Syrian border region, as domestic media reported that Ankara was considering military steps to counter security risks from Syria.

“As the head of the CHP, I am warning them not to drag Turkey into an adventure; it would have a high cost. And the people on the street, not the politicians, would be paying the bill,” said CHP head Kılıçdaroğlu in remarks published in the June 29 edition of daily Hürriyet.

On June 30, Kılıçdaroğlu also addressed his party group at parliament, once again questioning why Turkey should intervene in Syria.

“I would like to address Mr. Davutoğlu, who heads a temporary government: Other people should not speak on your behalf,” he said, referring to recent statements by Erdoğan on protecting the country.

“So we will go into Syria. Why should we go into Syria? For what reason? Isn’t the current bloodshed there enough?” Kılıçdaroğlu asked.

“Terrorist organizations have become our neighbors because of your incorrect policies,” he added.

Meanwhile, the United States, which is backing the Free Syrian Army and the Kurdish forces with air strikes in the fight against ISIL, has no “solid evidence” that Jordan and Turkey are considering seeking a buffer zone in Syria, the State Department said on June 29.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner said there were “serious logistical challenges” in creating such buffer zones, but he had not seen any concrete evidence that either Jordan or Turkey, which both share borders with war-torn Syria, were considering such a zone.

A senior outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) commander, Murat Karayılan, told a Kurdish news website the group would retaliate if the Turkish military intervened in Kurdish areas of Syria.

Turkish officials say the PKK is linked to the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria and its armed wing, The People’s Protection Units (YPG), which is fighting against ISIL.

SENIOR MEMBER

When the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) expelled the Islamic State from Tell Abyad, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, other Justice and Development Party (AKP) leaders and the pro-government media reacted hysterically. Among their frenzied scenarios: “Kurdish state in the making in northern Syria with US assistance,” “Kurdish ethnic cleansing of Arabs and Turkmens . . .”

There is no doubt many Kurds dream of a fully fledged, united West Kurdistan from Jazeera to Afrin. But geographic and demographic realities do not lend themselves to the creation of their Rojava. Actually, the Kurdish actors are realists and have been wisely following a road map that incorporates the geographic, ethnic and religious diversity of the region. Kurds owe their recent gains in the region to their cooperation with other ethnic elements. If they deviate from this course, their alliance, particularly with the Arabs, could easily collapse,

The basic motivation of the Kurds was to eliminate the IS threat and secure Afrin as they did Kobani. Control of Afrin had passed from the Damascus regime to the PYD-led Kurdish movement on July 11, 2012. On June 7, 2013, the Kurds took control of Kurdish villages in Afrin's vicinity from the opposition forces and opened up a corridor to Tell Rifaat in the east. Afrin’s population of about 700,000 doubled with the Kurds fleeing clashes around Aleppo. Reinforcing the Kurdish defense became problematic then, because IS was deployed on both flanks of Kobani. Afrin, which is surrounded by Arab and Turkmen, is now under siege by the Islamic Front and Jabhat al-Nusra.

According to Idris Nassan, Kobani's deputy minister of foreign relations, there are four conditions that must be met for the YPG to cross to the western bank of the Euphrates: Cooperation with opposition forces in the area, the request of the local tribes, a viable threat against Afrin and the continuation of the support by the international coalition.

To Al-Monitor’s query of whether the YPG will cross the Euphrates, journalist Fehim Isik replied, “The Kurds never had plans to advance on the ground to occupy territory. From the outset they have adhered to a policy of security of their area and building a democratic, free structure with the other peoples sharing their area. To have Tell Abyad in IS hands was a serious threat to the Kurds' and regional security. That is why they went after Tell Abyad. It is possible to predict that YPG will now turn toward Jarablus to eliminate the IS control there. This has nothing to do with building an oil pipeline. It is to build a free and democratic life.”

Veysel Ayhan, the chairman of Middle East Peace Research Center, offered this assessment: “It is inevitable that the Kurdish movement together with the Arabs of the area will try to free the other bank of the Euphrates. If that is not done, the eastern bank of the Euphrates will not feel secure. The YPG had earlier said that ridding Raqqa of IS will be part of their plans. This is why the Kurdish movement is not just an element of defense but a key actor of freedom for the Syrian peoples. That is why opening a safe corridor to Afrin is vital to meet the basic needs and security of the people of the region.”

MEMBER

To Al-Monitor’s query of whether the YPG will cross the Euphrates, journalist Fehim Isik replied, “The Kurds never had plans to advance on the ground to occupy territory. From the outset they have adhered to a policy of security of their area and building a democratic, free structure with the other peoples sharing their area. To have Tell Abyad in IS hands was a serious threat to the Kurds' and regional security. That is why they went after Tell Abyad. It is possible to predict that YPG will now turn toward Jarablus to eliminate the IS control there. This has nothing to do with building an oil pipeline. It is to build a free and democratic life.”

Fehim Isik is a Kurdish journalist often affiliated with the PKK,he was in prison for two years because of his separatist articles,
Started working as a journalist in 1989. He was arrested in 1990 for his articles, and spent nearly two years in prison. After being released, he worked as a journalist in Iraqi Kurdistan for over two years. He was a representative, editor and editor-in-chief in Turkish and Kurdish language newspapers and publishing houses. In addition to translated works in Turkish and Kurdish, he is among the authors of the Secondary Education Kurdish Language and Literature Textbook published by Tarih Vakfi. He is also a columnist for Evrensel daily newspaper(Kurdish nationalist paper).

The YPG had earlier said that ridding Raqqa of IS will be part of their plans. This is why the Kurdish movement is not just an element of defense but a key actor of freedom for the Syrian peoples. That is why opening a safe corridor to Afrin is vital to meet the basic needs and security of the people of the region.”

Again,they(YPG) say and we have to believe?
How can one believe what the YPG or Kurds say when we see that their objective is different from their statements.
Many Arabs and Turkmens were driven away from their homelands,how come?I dont believe in fairytales(you shouldnt either but its up to you).

SENIOR MEMBER

Maybe Turkey could have prevented all this had they stopped ISIS's advance on Kobane last year. Liberating Kobane from the terrorists I suppose is what emboldened the Kurdish militia making them believe that they could "do more?" How are they any different from the ISIS fighters if they are doing driving out all non-Kurds from territory they seize?

MEMBER

Fehim Isik is a Kurdish journalist often affiliated with the PKK,he was in prison for two years because of his separatist articles,
Started working as a journalist in 1989. He was arrested in 1990 for his articles, and spent nearly two years in prison. After being released, he worked as a journalist in Iraqi Kurdistan for over two years. He was a representative, editor and editor-in-chief in Turkish and Kurdish language newspapers and publishing houses. In addition to translated works in Turkish and Kurdish, he is among the authors of the Secondary Education Kurdish Language and Literature Textbook published by Tarih Vakfi. He is also a columnist for Evrensel daily newspaper(Kurdish nationalist paper).

So,what do you expect him to say about the YPG(PKK)?

Again,they(YPG) say and we have to believe?
How can one believe what the YPG or Kurds say when we see that their objective is different from their statements.
Many Arabs and Turkmens were driven away from their homelands,how come?I dont believe in fairytales(you shouldnt either but its up to you).

Mate, i couldn't find a thread like çay bahçesi so i'm writing in this thread.

I wanna ask you a question ?

Is this above photo Graphic ? Because it shows a dead man ? The pic i put in that thread was not gory. It was showing an Uighur mother and her 2 children hanged. I was there when moderation came with the dead/graphic ban. It was due to shared pics in ME section....Because ISIS was on rampage there were decapitated, blown, shot body pics everywhere. Now they are abusing that rule to punish me.

Issue is not this whenever i talk against China, they some how silence me. Last time i again got a ban for just saying "China is stealing Tibet's natural riches".....how this is fair ?

Have you seen that thread. Chinese insulted and sweared at Turkish members and our country. We didn't even replied that but in return I got banned, they roamed free. Now, i see you guys objected to my ban. And here webby comes and says "He should have been perma banned....so stay quiet and be happy that he is not perma banned ". Still doing his small tricks to contain the situation.

Please, tell webmaster that i want no exceptions that i'm an elite member. He should perma ban me. I'm so sick of their double standart....

We are a 100+ big community in PDF and contributing way much than Chinese bots.

MEMBER

Maybe Turkey could have prevented all this had they stopped ISIS's advance on Kobane last year. Liberating Kobane from the terrorists I suppose is what emboldened the Kurdish militia making them believe that they could "do more?" How are they any different from the ISIS fighters if they are doing driving out all non-Kurds from territory they seize?

Kurds changed the demographics of the region.....now there are no Arabs in Tel-Abyad. YPG all removed them from the town.
Turkey is going to feel Turkmens are getting treatened and will invade the west of Euphrates.

Secondly...Countries acts in according to their interests. We are not oblique to fight wars that has nothing to do with us....

Al Nusra is a terrorist group which is affiliated with Al-Qaeda right ?
YPG is a terrorist group which is affiliated with PKK. Yet you are asking us to help them...... ?

SENIOR MEMBER

I've heard rumors that the U.S was trying to get Al Nusra to re-brand as "moderate rebels" so they could be openly armed. The U.S and their allies want Assad out of power. It doesn't matter to them to which depths they'd sink as long as they achieve their goal.

About the YPG and PKK — if Turkey is acting to protect minorities in the Kurd-controlled areas then by all means let them do what must be done.

MEMBER

I've heard rumors that the U.S was trying to get Al Nusra to re-brand as "moderate rebels" so they could be openly armed. The U.S and their allies want Assad out of power. It doesn't matter to them to which depths they'd sink as long as they achieve their goal.

As far as i know Nusra is not commiting atrocities like ISIS....however i think that Nusra in the power of Syria won't go well with Israel. The most important think in the region is the security of Israel. So, US would want a secular group to rule syria not an hardline Islamist group.

There are no Turkmens in Kurd controlled areas...but Kurds might move into Turkmen controlled areas....so prevent the probability it is being said that Turkey will invade the west of the Euphrates. A strip of land 110 km at length and 20 km in depth which controlled by ISIS. There some other reasons too.

MEMBER

Maybe Turkey could have prevented all this had they stopped ISIS's advance on Kobane last year. Liberating Kobane from the terrorists I suppose is what emboldened the Kurdish militia making them believe that they could "do more?" How are they any different from the ISIS fighters if they are doing driving out all non-Kurds from territory they seize?

They are worse.
Have you ever seen people hit by a barrel bomb,do you know how they look after such a bomb attack?
Heads,limbs,inner organs everywhere,children women,elderly(bombs dont differentiate).
Yes ISIS chops of a couple of heads they are evil but compare that to the 200.000 dead Syrians killed by Assad,what ways more?
Just because you can see what ISIS did or does(cut male heads),it doesnt mean that Assad or the YPG is better or deserves another approach,they are all evil and need to be destroyed.
Put yourself in our place,what would you do?
Kobane is a YPG stronghold,they send terrorists to Turkiye for terrorist attacks since the 1980's,they were and are supported by Assad and Iran(that we know of).
Did you know that the rise of ISIS could have been prevented?
Iraq had an exclusive government,Shia government(MALIKI) who only cared for the Shia's of Iraq,same in Syria the Alewi(Shia) government of Assad(he gave the Kurds selfrule).
In both these contries the Sunni's were treated as subhumans,no rights not nothing,the west(US) knew this from the start but did nothing to change that(i guess they wanted Iraq and Syria to be destroyed).
What other choice did the moderate Sunni's have but to join a hardcore fighting machine(Islamists),cause they couldnt do it alone?
There was no ISIS only some small Islamist terror groups,so the Sunni's joined them to fight Maliki(Iraq) and Assad(Syria) later.
The Syrian civil war started with harmless protests by the population Assad used snipers and killed alot of them,so the people armed themselves and started to fight(joined by Islamist groups from all over the world).

Coming back to Turkiye,

We are not going to save one evil(YPG) from the other evil(ISIS) so that it can bite us back,if we fight we fight both evils or none,let them sort it out.
Scenario: Kobani saved,Arabs,Turkmens,Armenians,Assyrians,Arameans out!
Btw,i can also show you pictures of innocent dead children and women from terrorist attacks commited by the YPG/PKK if you want,lets see if if still care for the ''innocent'' Kobane Kurds.

SENIOR MEMBER

As far as i know Nusra is not commiting atrocities like ISIS....however i think that Nusra in the power of Syria won't go well with Israel. The most important think in the region is the security of Israel. So, US would want a secular group to rule syria not an hardline Islamist group.

I believe that the U.S and Israel would love it if the political instability in Syria is sustained if possible . . . forever. They'd also hope and do whatever they can to see that it [the instability] spreads to other Arab nations. If Israel's perceived enemies are busy fighting each other they wouldn't be a threat to them any more. Because of that I'm inclined to believe some of the conspiracy theories which suggest that Israel supports ISIS.

The Turkish army has called a meeting of troop commanders stationed along its fortified border with Syria to discuss a possible intervention in Syria, the Hurriyet newspaper reported on Sunday.

Turkey has boosted its military defenses on the volatile border over the past week, stationing tanks and anti-aircraft missiles there as well as bolstering troop numbers, as fighting between Islamist-led groups and Syrian regime forces in the northern city of Aleppo has intensified.

The Turkish build-up has fed speculation that the government is planning to intervene in Syria to push Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) jihadists back from the border and halt the advance of Kurdish forces who have made gains against the extremists in the area.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday ruled out any prospect of an immediate intervention in Syria.

Bur Hurriyet said on Sunday that the Turkish Armed Forces had ordered all commanders of troops stationed along the border to attend a meeting at military headquarters in Ankara next week to discuss the details of such an operation.

The deployment of over 400 armored vehicles, which would carry military personnel and be protected by jammers against mines laid by ISIS militants, would be on the agenda at the meeting, Hurriyet reported on its website.

The role of the Turkish Air Force in supporting such an operation is also expected to be discussed, it added.

Turkey currently has 54,000 soldiers deployed along the Syrian border.

Special forces commander Zekai Aksakalli on Sunday inspected troops on a tour of the southern border province of Kilis as a new convoy of artillery and missile batteries was deployed, Anatolia news agency reported.

Davutoglu said on Thursday that while a unilateral intervention was “out of the question” under current conditions, Turkey would “not wait for tomorrow” to act in Syria “in the event of a threat to domestic security.”

Turkey is one of the fiercest opponents of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Damascus and has taken in more than 1.8 million refugees since the war in Syria began.

Ankara also fears that the growing power of Kurdish forces there will embolden Turkey's 15-million strong Kurdish minority.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he would “never allow” the formation of a Kurdish state along Turkey’s southern borders.